Flickering Lights
by CapturetheFinnick
Summary: Dan and Phil bump into each other wandering the streets late at night in Manchester. Phan. Fluff with a teensy bit of Angst. Oneshot.


The rain had started. Little droplets pouring down, slowly turning into pellets, plummeting into the ground. The distant chatter of thunder, a strike of lightning somewhere.

Dan wandered the streets, the streetlights glowing down, more overbearing than thoughtful, pushing him down rather than guiding his way. Buildings surrounded him, their tall turrets reaching for the sky, their heads amongst the stars but they did little to shelter him. In fact Dan would have preferred for them not to be there at all, at least then he could see something. What was the point in a midnight walk if all you could see were shadowed outlines of buildings?

The streets were strangely empty, just a few drunks tottering around, their speech slurred and loud, song breaking out randomly like they were in a befouled version of high school musical. Dan guessed that no one else wanted to be out in a torrential storm. He pulled his hood back up again. He didn't even really know why _he _was there.

He turned down another side street, looking for somewhere to go, but every window was dark. It seemed as if the whole world was just shadows, with the occasional flickering lamppost. He stared at his feet mostly, watching the raindrops bounce off them. How did he get to this point in his life? His life was like the dark shadowed street and Dan was just trudging down it, waiting for a light to flicker on, and waiting for a signpost to tell him where to go. His hood fell down but Dan didn't bother to pull it back up, what was the point? The rain soaked his hair, turning it almost as black as the night itself, little rivers dribbling down the back of his neck and onto his t-shirt.

Dan felt he had been lied to. He felt cheated. He felt as if had got to the end of the video game to be told you could not win, as if he had got to the end of the film to be told there was no ending. His whole life he had thought that once he got to university life would be better, he would pull himself out of the deep well he had been residing in, he would meet friends and he would party, and most importantly, he would know what he was doing with his life. But alas no, his entire life he had been saying 'I'll think about it tomorrow' but in a land of infinite days, tomorrow never comes. And it sure hadn't come for Dan.

And so now, there he was, wandering the streets, directionless and almost enjoying the misery of the cold rain upon his skin, at least he could feel that.

That was not entirely true, that wasn't the only reason Dan was wandering the streets. Dan's roommate had a 'friend' in their room, a 'friend' which he was enjoying rather loudly. Dan had heard it from down the hall and, feeling too awkward to hang around and wait, he had turned on his heel and now here he was.

Maybe Jack had saved him, all he would have done is stay in his room all night, abusing Wi-Fi privileges and feeling sorry for himself. Maybe now he could go out, find his destiny, sort his life out. Dan laughed to himself, he couldn't even bring himself to gather enough enthusiasm to finish that sentence.

The rain was getting heavier now, pounding onto the pavement like it was a drum, and the thunder was definitely growing louder and Dan could have sworn that he saw the lightning this time, closer now, like a flash of hope in a sea of grey. Except it too was lying to Dan, it wasn't hope at all, it was danger, its striking colours made to attract people before taking them for itself. Like mermaids. Or society.

Dan knew the dangers of being out in a thunderstorm, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He looked down again, watching grey collide with grey.

He wasn't looking where he was going, he wasn't expecting anyone else to be there, and so when he collided with someone he cried out, but it was more in surprise than in pain. He had to throw his arm out to stop himself from falling into the greyness, his hood flying backwards in the process. The rain lashed harder against his face and Dan squinted, using his spare hand to pull it back up again.

He looked up, his hand lingering and clutching his head slightly. Through the darkness he saw the figure. A man. His face was soaked and his hair was dripping wet.

"I'm sorry." The main exclaimed, but his voice was shaky, his throat scratchy. Through the shaft of the streetlight Dan could see the man's face was soaked not only from the rain, but also from tears that were still leaking from his eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Err yeah fine." The man said, but Dan could tell he wasn't; he was dressed only in a t-shirt and he was beginning to shake.

"You must be freezing!"

"Look, I'll be fine" the man said, but it came out more as a sob as he shivered again.

And then there was a light in the distance, a light so bright that Dan wondered how he had missed it before. He shrugged his coat from his shoulders, after all he already had a jumper, and the man had nothing.

"Here, look, there's a coffee shop at the end of the road, let me buy you a coffee okay?" he said, throwing the coat around the man's shoulders and guiding him in the right direction.

The man carried on whimpering and it snapped at Dan's chest, he was already in a fragile emotional state and here was this man, his eyes big and wide and his shoulders shaking. It made Dan want to throw his arms around him, to let him bury himself in his chest, to spread some warmth into him and to dry his tears. But he knew he couldn't.

Dan felt the warmth of the café before he saw it, and throwing up his head, he smiled. It was glowing, as if it was a kind of beacon. And maybe it was. Or maybe it wasn't. Dan didn't know. And for once he didn't seem to care about the significance of the café, or the significance of the meeting or the significance of anything, he felt strangely calm, as if he was floating above himself. The smile didn't leave his lips.

"Here, sit here, I'll be right back with the drinks." Dan reassured, trying too hard not to stutter; the boy looked even more beautiful in the light.

"No, I can't let you do that." The man said, attempting to push himself out of his chair again.

"It's okay." Dan chided, laughing slightly. _Actual laughter. _"I don't mind," he paused, "besides you need to warm up." The man smiled, snuggling back into the chair, wrapping his arms around himself. The crying had stopped but the sniffling was still going on, pain still evident in his eyes.

"Thank you" he said lightly, a small smile tugging at his chapped lips. "What's your name, by the way?" He bleated, lowering his face a little. "It only seems fair that I know it."

"Oh, it's Dan" Dan paused "And you?"

"It's Phil. Nice to meet you Dan." And he held out a hand. Dan took it, an iciness running through his veins, his hands were relatively cold, but Phil's were like touching a freezer shelf.

"Oh my god, your hands are freezing!" Phil blushed,

"Sorry."

"No, no, here." Dan said, digging his hand into his jeans pocket and producing a pair of deep red gloves, bundled together. He offered them to Phil and Phil smiled.

"Thanks, you didn't need to do any of this." Dan had to stop himself from blushing,

"No problem" he said, turning around to join the non-existent queue for drinks.

The barista looked tired, his elbow slipping as he rested his hand on it. Dan could see his eyes beginning to droop, his hair messy and covering half of his face. It was sufficiently awkward. Dan looked round, his eyes swooping the café, he hadn't quite noticed that they were the only ones there, although at 2am what can you expect?

Dan coughed a little and the barista sprung to life with a sigh, like a jack-in-the-box that pops up only to give a half-hearted groan and then hang its head.

"What can I get you?" the man asked, his voice lilting Irish, although he couldn't make it through the sentence without a yawn escaping his lips. Dan's eyes wandered the board above, he'd never even asked Phil what he wanted, but the man was tapping his fingers, his fingernails hitting the bar in a steady manner, it made Dan's heart beat faster.

He swung around to ask Phil, but he was curled up, his head lulling and his face half snuggled into the sofa.

"Just two caramel macchiatos please," Dan said hurriedly, "decaf." The man nodded, moving laboriously towards the machine and picking up a mug. Dan turned round, leaning against the bar. He couldn't help but watch Phil, his hair drifting across his face, his eyes flittering shut, his mouth soft.

Dan felt a poke in the spine and he turned back around, reddening slightly. "That'll be £5.98 please." Dan fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a scrunched up (and slightly damp) ten pound note, handing it to the man sheepishly.

"What time is this place open till?"

"We're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." It was clearly a phrase the man had uttered many times, the words sounded rehearsed and groomed and yet the man droned them, unable to muster enough energy to sound perky and like he actually wanted to be there.

"Thanks." Dan turned away, the tray gripped tightly in his grasp and the man's head falling back onto his hand. He placed the tray down onto the table, taking a moment just to take in Phil's sleeping face, his red eyes scrunched up and his hands folded over his mouth.

"Phil." Phil stirred a little, but didn't fully wake up.

"Phil!" he said a little louder and he woke up, his eyes small and his cheeks a little red.

"Oh" he said wearily, "Thank you, how much do I owe you for it?"

"Oh it's fine, it's on me." Phil looked like he wanted to argue but was too tired, his eyes giving up as he sat up straighter, threading his hands around his cup. With a mass amount of effort, he brought it to his lips, drinking some.

"Caramel macchiato right?" Phil chuckled.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"It's my favourite." Dan smiled, taking a sip.

"Mine too."

It went silent for a while, the only sounds the lashing of rain against the window, accompanied by the howling winds. Dan noticed that Phil had brought his legs onto the armchair, curling himself up into himself as much as possible. Dan's coat had been shrugged from his shoulders and was now thrown over his lap, his drink clutched between his two hands. He was still shaking a little. Dan leaned back in his armchair. He hadn't realised how uncomfortable he had been, how miserable he had been, how cold it was out there, until he come inside, the warmth like a raging fire.

"So…" Phil said, cutting through the silence and snapping back Dan's attention. "How come you were wandering the streets anyway?" Phil's voice was shaking less now, although he didn't look Dan in the eye as he spoke. Dan learnt that Phil's voice was actually quite low, and sultry. Dan stopped himself.

"My roommate was being-err-'loud' and so was his-err-girlfriend." Dan mumbled quickly, looking away but Phil only laughed, an infectious kind of laughter, bubbling up from within his chest and spilling into the air. Soon enough Dan was laughing too.

"And you've just been wandering the streets?"

"Uh-huh" Dan muttered, realising how stupid he must sound.

"Wow what a great roommate you are, he owes you for that one." Phil took a sip of his drink and Dan wanted to ask. He wanted to ask so badly. He wanted to know the source of the river of tears and yet he knew he shouldn't bring it up, he knew the pain was beginning to fade from Phil's eyes, but it was too late the words were on the tip of his tongue and they were beginning to slip over the edge, falling helplessly over the cliff face.

"So how come you were wandering the streets then?" Phil's face fell. _Shit. _Phil looked down.

"You don't have to tell me!" Dan promised, cursing himself over and over. He knew it would make Phil upset and he said it, and now here was the evidence in front of himself.

"No, no it's okay." Phil said sadly. "My boyfriend dumped me." He sighed.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Dan said, wishing he could reach his arms out and wrap them around the stranger rather than being sown to his seat in self-consciousness.

"We were just at the cinema." Phil choked slightly, "And he told me that he no longer wanted me, and it's just that it was so unexpected you know? Like I thought we were fine, I was in love with him for god's sake and then just like that, over, he wasn't ready, or he didn't care or something." Phil had begun to cry again, his chest heaving up and down, his hand desperately trying to catch his tears before Dan could see them. It tore at Dan's heart, and suddenly he couldn't just sit there anymore, he felt a need to get up, to help.

"Do you err need a hug?" Phil paused, before nodding and Dan rose from his chair, walking over and kneeling at the side of the armchair, wrapping his arms around Phil's body. Phil was warm but also cold. Like his heart was warm and pumping, trapped under the ice of his skin. Dan tried not to breathe in his scent as his hair tickled his cheek.

He was sure that they looked weird, two six foot men holding onto each other over the arm of a chair. But who was there to see it?

"You're okay." Dan said, "I know it seems bad now, but it doesn't make you a bad person, and it will be better." Phil blushed and Dan blushed, but they both managed a smile. "Anyway you can go home, eat some ice cream, watch a film and surround yourself in a duvet."

"Umm I don't have a home it would seem now,"

"You lived with the guy?"

"Not just us two, but yeah, after uni I had nowhere to stay and so I stayed there." he stopped. "Seems stupid now of course."

"You're not stupid, Phil, I promise." Dan said, sliding back into his chair.

"Of course I am, I'm going to have to sleep on the streets." Dan rolled his eyes,

"Stop being melodramatic, you can just stay with me." Phil bit his lip,

"Really?"

"Really." Dan said, taking a sip of his coffee again, both bitter and sweet hitting his mouth at once.

"What about your roommate?"

"_His _girlfriend's probably there. Why not you?" Dan backtracked, the red that was already coatinf his cheeks spreading down his neck. "Not that I err mean that you are like my boyfriend." Dan internally face palmed. "You probably didn't even think that did you?" _he was still talking. _Phil laughed, his tongue sticking out a little,

"I know what you meant Dan." He smiled wider as Dan bowed his head in embarrassment "and thank you." He took a drink from his coffee, a smile still coating his lips.

They kept talking and somehow the words kept coming to them, conversations springing out of nowhere, rope pulling them closer, knots growing tighter as they learnt about each other. Both of them were smiling, it was so rare to find someone who had not only similar interests, but also could have an in depth conversation about these things without facts having to be explained and without finding it silly.

Slowly, the dark began to fade, the black being watered down, infiltrated with streaks of yellow and purple, like ink when you pour water onto it. But Dan and Phil didn't notice. They didn't notice the sun, or the steady growth of traffic outside, they only noticed when the man packed up, emerging from the back room dressed fully in a tux.

"Is it that time already?" Dan asked, wide-eyed. The man laughed,

"It's 5am. I thought I'd just leave you to it."

"No, thank you for putting up with us." Phil laughed, barely a remnant of the sad, small man left.

"And good luck with the wedding!" echoed Dan.

"Do you still want to sleep at mine?" Dan asked, "Or do you have things to do?"

"It's 5am." Phil stated. "Who has things to do at 5am?" Dan laughed, opening the door for Phil.

"It's just this way." And despite the harsh and cold morning air, Dan couldn't help but beam, for after all, maybe, just maybe, Phil could be his flickering light at the end of the dark street. He could be his warm café on a cold night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thanks for reading and sorry that it was super cheesy<strong>_


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